“I feel great, with the adaptation, the group, and the welcome, and I'm already looking forward to more,” begins Cris Martínez (Astorga, 26 June 1993). Despite being from León, she feels like one of her own in A Coruña. That's the city she arrived in back in 2016 to take ownership of the right flank for the Galician team. Over these ten years, the defender has grown with the club, achieving promotion to the top flight twice, and enduring a relegation that made her stronger. But beyond her sporting achievements, the defender has become the captain of the Deportivista squad, and last season, almost by chance, she received the news of a lifetime: becoming a mother. “I won't say it came as a surprise, but it wasn't a planned decision. The process of stopping training with my teammates overnight due to the pregnancy was a bit complicated, but now I look at it from a different perspective and I'm very happy,” she admits.

Full support from Depor Abanca and Liga F

From the very first moment, she received maximum support from Deportivo Abanca. “They treated me incredibly well from the first day they found out. At first, it was news that only a few people needed to know because of what might happen, and I told the psychologist, the doctor... but from the day I told everyone, they've supported me, and I've had everything I've needed,” states the footballer. The club and the player decided to share the news with the rest of the squad and announce it via an emotional video on social media. “My teammates' reaction was immense joy and it made me happy and see it in a different light. They braced for the worst, but the reaction on social media was very good, and it's a video I'll treasure forever,” she says. Furthermore, thanks to the signing of the II Collective Agreement, Liga F has also supported her during this process. 

“I trained with the club until the season ended and all my teammates went on holiday. From then on, I got in touch with the club and Liga F, and they supported me financially with a personal trainer specialising in pregnancies in León, Diana,” recalls the defender, who also has a funny anecdote. “Nicolás was born on a Monday, and I was training until the previous Friday,” she replies, laughing. Liga F has also helped her in the post-motherhood process. “By subsidising a physiotherapist specialising in pelvic floor rehabilitation, Patricia Gutiérrez, who is also in Astorga. They've supported me in everything I've needed,” she confesses. Indeed, that support has given her greater peace of mind during her maternity leave because “very few women have taken this step, and you are the proof of everything and how to do things.”

The importance of the Collective Agreement 

A feeling that has made her feel a bit like a 'guinea pig' because “it's a difficult decision to make as it's a break in your career, and a chosen break. An injury happens unexpectedly, and this is a choice you make and have to decide on.” Even so, Cris states that “I've never felt alone at any moment, and the physios, fitness coaches, and trainers have all been involved, keeping informed about everything.” Furthermore, the Deportivo Abanca footballer once again highlights the importance of these aids in the II Collective Agreement. “Feeling supported by all the laws and regulations in any job is important, but even more so in this one because it's still a physical job, where you are putting your body at the service of raising a baby and returning in the best possible condition,” she states. After giving birth in November, she returned to training with the club at the end of March. 

April 15, 2025

Balancing Football and Motherhood

“You come from being on leave and looking after your child. I was in Astorga surrounded by my parents, my in-laws... lots of people looking after the baby, helping us, and coming here to A Coruña was a tough and tiring process, but when I arrived at Abegondo and stepped onto the pitch for the first time, it stirred everything in me, and I realised that this was what I wanted, and I'm enjoying it immensely,” she admits. Now she spends her mornings at the training ground and her afternoons with her son. “We have a girl helping us look after the baby in the mornings because my husband works until five, and when I finish my shift here, I go home, and my second shift begins,” she expresses with the same smile she had when she had her son a few months ago and with which she now only thinks about returning. “I'm in the final stages of recovery. I'm still doing things separately, but I'm already doing exercises with my teammates,” she replies. 

Her goal is to return to playing by the end of the season. “I'd like to get some minutes, but minutes earned, not given. I want to play if I truly deserve it, for that reason, not because Cris Martínez is playing again after having a child,” admits a footballer who is now at a crucial point in her recovery. “I'm starting to train with my teammates. They have a year's head start, but it's the benchmark to see where I really am,” she states. From the first day she found out she was going to be a mother, her objective was to regain her previous level. “Maybe I won't play again because maybe I'll never reach my previous level, but physically my goal was to feel the same as before, and now I feel great, and I think I've achieved it,” she states proudly. 

The Return to the Pitch

She imagines her return with “my son watching his mother play again and surrounded by much of my family.” A son, Nicolás, who has already become a Deportivista, because “he already puts club posters in his mouth,” and who sees his mother as a role model for other women footballers. “I've achieved this now at 32, and I hope I can play some minutes back in Liga F, but let them know that it's possible, and if someone has already achieved it before, why not repeat it?” asks the player from Astorga, who has had few role models to look up to, apart from Alharilla or Ainize Barea 'Peke'. “Life, and not just football, has changed. Everything is postponed much longer, and people have children much later now. It's also difficult to make a living and provide for a child. Everything is delayed, especially in this short career,” she replies.

A reflection that the footballer quickly expands upon. “It's a difficult decision. It must be respected, but I hope, just like Alharilla or 'Peke', I can serve as an example that it's possible, and that whoever wants to and desires it will be encouraged,” explains Cris Martínez, who has shown that it is now normal to combine professional football with being a mother, thanks to the help of Liga F and Deportivo Abanca. “I know of cases where they haven't behaved as well as they should have, but at Dépor, they've always supported me. And when I was ready to return from my leave, they welcomed me with open arms,” says the player emotionally, conveying a final message of normalcy. “Do I feel like a role model? I don't know. I hope someone sees me and wants to do the same. Yesterday I brought Nicolás, and many told me they definitely wanted to be mothers. I hope that by seeing me and my child, they feel that it's possible,” she concludes.